


What's Your Flavor?

by seasonofthegeek



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is a disaster, Adrino, Aged up characters, No miraculous AU, Sexual Content, figuring out sexuality is confusing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 13:58:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17305883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasonofthegeek/pseuds/seasonofthegeek
Summary: Adrien can't keep himself from finding reasons to go back to the mall to visit the cute sales association at his new favorite store. He's never considered himself to be into other men before but Nino is definitely making him rethink that.This is a story about how confusing it is when you identify as one thing your whole life and one day, you realize that might not actually be the case.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lahiffed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lahiffed/gifts).



“Another return?” Nino pulled the plastic bag across the counter. “You’ve been in three times this week. I’m beginning to think you like us here.”

“Uh, yeah, sorry. The receipt is on top.” Adrien flushed as he watched the other man pull the gray pants out of the bag and begin to examine them. “There wasn’t anything wrong. I just realized I already had that color.”

“I was about to say it’s a good color on you, dude,” Nino grinned. “We just got in some like this but they have this thin black lining pattern you might like. They should be on the table towards the front.”

Adrien nodded absently and looked in that direction.

“I can just hold these here for you while you shop,” Nino offered, “unless you’re needing to be in and out today.”

“I have some time.”

“Cool. I’ll take care of you whenever you’re ready.”

Adrien nodded in thanks and let out a sigh of relief once he was far enough away from the counter. He knew coming back to the mall today was pushing it but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He’d spent most of the morning he was supposed to be lesson planning by thinking about the guy behind the counter and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by his coworkers.  
________________________________________  
“My, my, someone is in another snazzy new outfit,” Alya teased, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “Did the physics department suddenly give out a wardrobe stipend I didn’t hear about?”

Adrien felt his cheeks warm but didn’t look up from the test he was grading. “I’ve just been picking up a few new things. It’s no big deal.”

“All from the same store,” Marinette added with a knowing smile. “And from the same cute sales associate too.”

He shot her an unfriendly look. “Traitor. We’re no longer mall buddies.”

She laughed and slid half of her croissant across the table as a peace offering. He eyed her suspiciously but picked it up and took a bite.

“Cute sales associate, hmm? Tell me more.” Alya took the remaining empty chair and tore open a sugar packet to pour in her coffee. “I keep telling them to just let us pour sugar from a bottle but no, I have to keep ripping open a million of these stupid suckers to get a decent drink.”

Marinette took a long sip of her black coffee with a superior sniff. 

“Don’t be a teachers lounge snob, Mari. It’s unbecoming,” Alya grinned. “Now, Sunshine, tell me about the associate. Is she cute?”

“He,” Marinette corrected in a singsong tone.

Alya’s eyes lit up. “Oh, apologies. I didn’t realize,” she said with too much glee in her voice.

“I’m reporting both of you to HR,” Adrien mumbled, keeping his eyes on his students’ tests. 

“You would miss us too much. We’re the only ones in this whole school who pity laugh at your puns.”

He looked up with a pout. “That’s not true. Wait, did you say pity laugh?”

Marinette reached across the table and gave his arm a reassuring pat. 

“I didn’t know you were into guys. If the mall guy doesn’t work out, I’ve got a hot cousin who would totally go out with you,” Alya offered, pouring her fourth packet of sugar into her coffee. “He’s kind of a slut but he’s proud of it.”

Adrien felt his face warm. “I’m not gay.”

Alya shared a look with Marinette. “Oh.”

“I mean...I don’t think I’m gay?” he frowned. “How do you know if you’re gay?”

“Aww, I remember Marinette saying those exact words to me when we were in university together,” Alya cooed.

Adrien blinked in surprise. “You’re married to a guy though.”

“Well, yeah,” Marinette shrugged, “but Alya definitely helped me realize I was bi. Luka’s just who I fell in love with.”

“I helped her realize so good that we almost failed our classes when we wouldn’t leave the dorm room for like three weeks.”

Marinette blushed. “Alya!”

“What?” she laughed. “It’s true. And don’t worry, Sunshine, there’s all kinds of flavor of gay. I’m sure you can find one that works for you. My theory is that no one is actually straight anymore anyway.”

“I don’t know about that,” Marinette laughed, “but if you need to talk about anything, you know you have us, okay?”

Adrien was pulled back to the present when he heard Nino laugh. He looked back toward the counter and saw him talking to one of his coworkers. Adrien frowned at the dress shirt he was standing by. He really couldn’t afford to keep buying clothes just to get a chance to see Nino. It wasn’t in his budget and he’d gone a little crazy the first time Nino had helped him pick out some new pieces and bought everything the other man suggested.

He’d never felt like this about a guy before. Even with women, he didn’t often get crushes. They were few and far between and usually on friends. They would dissolve before anything transpired most of the time and he usually convinced himself that teaching kept him too busy to date but that wasn’t true. He realized with a start that he’d never been this infatuated with anyone. That’s why he was embarrassed. All he could think about was getting back to the mall to get a chance to see Nino again but as soon as he did, he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. It was mortifying.

“Dude, you are looking at that shirt way too hard.”

Adrien jumped a little to see Nino standing right beside him. “Uh, yeah, sorry. I think I zoned out for a minute.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I wanted to let you know I’m heading out but Kim can take care of your return.” He nodded back towards the counter and Adrien’s eye followed the action as his heart sank.

“Oh, sure, thanks.”

Nino shifted his weight. “Uh, listen, this could totally be a wrong call on my part but would you maybe want to grab a drink?”

“With you?”

He laughed, cheeks darkening as he scratched at the back of his neck. “Yeah, man, with me. It’s cool if you’re not into that. It doesn’t have to be a thing or whatever.”

Adrien swallowed loudly but nodded. “We can have a thing. I mean, a drink sounds good.”

Nino gave him a relieved smile. “Cool. Do you want to go now? Or you know what, if that’s too soon...that’s probably too soon, isn’t it? And it’s like a weeknight. I can give you my number or--”

“Now would be great.”

“Awesome, hang on a sec, okay?” Nino turned away from him but immediately turned back. “Just stay right here. I’m coming right back and we’ll go. Just…just don’t go anywhere.” He jogged to the back of the store and Adrien thought his heart was going to hammer out of his chest. 

If he was going to make a run for it, now was the time to do it. Nino was at the counter, his back to Adrien, and the other employee-- Kim maybe?-- was slapping the counter and laughing. This was a mistake. He should go. He should go right now.

Nino was making his way back to him, cheeks even darker than they had been before. “I was telling Kim to hold on to those pants for you. Is that cool?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Cool. There’s a bar I like that’s maybe a five minute walk if that works for you.”

Adrien blinked. “Oh. For some reason I was thinking coffee when you said drink.”

“We can do coffee.”

“No, a bar is great.”

They both laughed nervously. “Bar it is then,” Nino decided, gesturing with an open hand towards the rest of the mall outside the store. “I think we could both use a little social lubricant.”

Adrien felt his cheeks flame and he nodded in reply.

“It’s Adrien, right? I snuck a peek at your credit card receipt. Please don’t find that creepy.”

Adrien laughed in surprise. “As long as you don’t find it creepy that I’ve been hoping Nino’s actually your name since you’ve only worn a nametag once when I’ve been in.”

He grinned. “I hate that thing. You must’ve caught me on a day when the boss was in.”

“Lucky me then, I guess,” Adrien smiled, finally feeling decently calm.

“I could say the same thing,” Nino winked.

All of his calm melted away with that wink and Adrien was back to staring straight ahead and hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt.

There was a slight pause and then Nino was talking again as he led them out of the mall. “So what do you do for work?”

At least that was an easy question he could answer without making a fool of himself. “I teach physics at a charter school.”

“Ah, so you’re handsome and smart then.”

“You’re killing me,” Adrien groaned, running an anxious hand through his hair.

Nino laughed and it was loud and joyful as they made their way down the sidewalk. “Sorry, man. I’m trying too hard, right? Kim warned me not to try too hard.”

Adrien dared a glance over and found it nice to see that Nino seemed to be blushing as hard as he was. “Please tell me you’re nervous too.”

“Dude, I haven’t shut up about you since the first day you and your friend came in. I was sure you were with her but then you kept coming back alone so I figured I should take a shot.” Nino pinched the bridge of his nose, just below his glasses. “And I can’t believe I just said that out loud. I’m such a loser.”

“Try cyberstalking a guy whose name you hope is Nino and all you know is he works at the mall and is really cute,” Adrien offered, figuring he may as well put his cards on the table. Better to end it early than drag on this embarrassment any longer than necessary. “I was on the mall website somehow hoping there was a picture of you.”

“Oh damn, there wasn’t, was there?”

“No, not that I could find.”

“Cool, so I’m not the only disaster then,” Nino laughed, face still red. “We’re here.” He held open the door and Adrien stepped inside the bar. Nino waved at the bartender and led them to a small table towards the back. “I come here a good bit after work.”

“I didn’t even realize this was here.”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty awesome place. Food’s not bad either if you’re hungry.”

Adrien stomach rolled with anxiety and he shook his head. “I’m good for now.”

“Beer okay?”

“Sure.”

He watched Nino go up to the bar and let out a deep breath. This wasn’t so bad. It definitely wasn’t going smoothly but Nino seemed to be as nervous as he was and that was comforting somehow. Was this a date? Was he on a date with another man right now? Adrien rolled his bottom lip under and chewed on it. It did feel different than when he’d gone out with other male teachers for drinks on the rare occasion. And it did seem like Nino liked him. He said he was handsome and smart and that was flirty thing to say, wasn’t it? He didn’t have a lot of other guy friends though and maybe that’s all this was.

He took in Nino’s form as the other man leaned against the bar. The way he was standing made the dress pants pull tight across his backside and the nice shirt showcased a slim figure. He found himself wondering if that was how Nino dressed when he wasn’t at work or if he had another style completely. Then he wondered what Nino looked like with no clothes at all at the exact moment he saw Nino’s tongue dart out to wet his lips as he spoke to the bartender. Adrien’s skin blazed hot and he sank down in the booth.

He pulled out his phone and started a group message with Alya and Marinette with one single text. 

_I think I’m gay._  
__________________________________

“So I guess, yeah, I hope to make it onto the scene, you know, but I’m also trying to be realistic about it?” Nino paused to take a long drag of his beer. “That’s why I’m working the job and making money while I can. I work on my music on my off days and with any luck, something will pan out for it.”

“That’s really cool. I’ve never had anything like that.” Adrien finished his second beer and felt a pleasant buzz. He wasn’t much of a drinker and it only took a few beers before he was really feeling the effects.

“You’ve never had a hobby?”

“Never had a passion,” he shrugged. “I’ve had plenty of hobbies.”

“That sucks, man.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s never too late though. You could always pick something up if you wanted.” Nino tapped his bottle against Adrien’s. “You want another?”

“Are you trying to get me drunk because you’re well on your way,” he laughed. “I might be a lightweight.”

“Maybe we should call it then. I don’t want you to forget everything about tonight. It’s been too good for that.”

Adrien knew his smile must be dopey but he couldn’t seem to change it. “Yeah, I definitely don’t want to do that.” Nino seemed closer than he had moments before and Adrien blinked slowly. “Are you going to kiss me?” he whispered. 

Nino’s breath caught as he closed the rest of the distance between them. “Oh, hell yeah,” he said as their lips met.


	2. Chapter 2

“Just so you know,” Nino panted between kisses, “I never do stuff like this.” 

He wedged his thigh between Adrien’s and pressed the other man against the brick wall, eliciting a soft gasp that made his head spin. They’d successfully made it out of the bar once it had been heavily suggested they leave but now they were just outside the back door and Nino wasn’t sure if he could make himself move away enough to get anywhere further for the moment. Somehow one kiss he was sure would signal goodnight had turned into a full blown make-out session that was hinting at becoming something more. Adrien kept making little helpless sounds in the back of his throat that Nino had no doubt he would be replaying in his head in the future.

He’d been smitten with Adrien since the first time he saw him. He usually hated playing personal stylist but he’d practically gotten on his hands and knees and begged Kim to let him when Adrien came into the store a second time to look for a new winter wardrobe. 

“That guy is not gay,” Kim laughed, “but if you wanna waste your time, be my guest. Get him to sign up for a credit card. Flirt if you have to; we’re short for today.”

“He could be gay,” Nino argued. “And I’m not flirting to get a card. That has to be against company policy.”

“There’s no strict rule against flirting.”

Nino rolled his eyes. “Still though.”

“I’m just telling you that guy is not one hundred percent only into dudes though. He could be bi or pan or something but I would bet my next paycheck on it.” He tapped his temple. “I know these things.”

“I think I’m going to chance it. I’m not one hundred percent into dudes either, ya know.”

“Your funeral.”

Nino was slammed back into the present when he felt Adrien’s palm tentatively slide up the inside of his shirt. His skin was too warm and if he didn’t do something now, he had a feeling they would find themselves in a very embarrassing situation soon. “Your place or mine?” he breathed, forcing himself to break contact enough to speak.

Adrien watched him through heavily lidded eyes as if he hadn’t processed the question even as his fingers gripped Nino’s bare side. “Hmmm?”

“We can’t just stay here,” he laughed, daring a quick glance toward the street. “I live about a block away. Do you want to come over?”

Adrien swallowed hard and nodded. He grunted softly as Nino stepped away from him and took his hand. 

“Don’t worry, dude. I feel the same way, believe me.” He squeezed his hand and led them towards the sidewalk. The air suddenly felt too cold on his heated skin. He felt his courage cracking the longer they walked and the longer it had been since Adrien said anything. He was too nervous to look over at him though so he continued on until he had to drop Adrien’s hand to fumble with his keys once they’d made it inside his building.

“I should probably go.”

Nino froze, the key almost in the lock. “Oh?”

“I’m sorry. I…this was just a huge mistake and…” Adrien scratched the back of his head anxiously. “I only realized today that I might be into other men and I wasn’t even sure but then you asked me out and you’re really cute and then I was drinking and…” He trailed off with a wince. “I’m sorry.”

“You only realized…” Nino blinked at him. “Wait.”

Adrien’s face darkened. “I’ve never been out with another guy before so I’m sorry if I led you on or if I did it wrong or…”

“Okay, first things first, we’re getting you some coffee.” He finally managed to get his door unlocked and shouldered it open. “And then we’ll have a talk.” He saw Adrien’s eyes flit down the hall nervously and Nino held a hand up. “I promise we’re just going to talk.”

He held open the door and let out a sigh of relief when Adrien stepped through. Nino locked it once more and threw the extra three locks out of habit.

“Wow, uh, you really want me to stay, huh?” There was still a nervous tone to Adrien’s voice but he was attempting a smile so Nino was going to take that as a good sign.

“Sorry, habit. I have a lot of equipment I don’t want to go missing.”

“What about when you’re out?”

“My neighbors are both home a good bit and keep an eye out,” he shrugged. “Do you want me to undo them?”

“No, it’s okay.”

Nino stepped out of his shoes and left them by the door before going to his small kitchen. “How do you like your coffee?”

“At this point, really strong,” Adrien sighed. “Is it okay if I sit here?” He pointed to the single stool on the other side of the counter and Nino nodded. 

“Okay, so, can you explain to me the whole you only realized you might like guys today thing?” Nino scooped coffee grounds into the filter. “Because I gotta be honest, I feel like I just got whiplash because the alley definitely didn’t feel like you...” Nino snapped his mouth shut and slid the filter into place.

Adrien covered his face for a moment, feeling how hot his cheeks were. “I’m so sorry,” he groaned. “To be honest, I have no idea what I am right now. I kinda just always thought of myself as straight but then I met you and I couldn’t stop thinking about you and I’ve blown my entire month’s budget on clothes just so I had an excuse to come to the mall to see you so that feels like something.”

Nino felt himself blush and turned back to his cabinets to pull a couple of mugs down. “I, uh, that’s really flattering actually.”

“And then you asked me out tonight and we got to talk and you’re really great and…”

The suspense got to be too much once Adrien trailed off and Nino finally forced himself to turn around and face him. The other man’s face was bright red and he was twisting the cord of a pair of earbuds into a knot. Nino held back the instinct to snap at him to stop and took a deep breath. “We made out like a couple of horny teenagers in a public place,” he said, filling in the blank.

If the blush had been fading at all, it returned full force and Adrien made a choking sound. “I’m so sorry,” he repeated miserably.

“You’re sorry we kissed?”

“Well…no, not really.”

Nino grinned. “Me neither.” The smell of coffee began to fill the small space. “Okay, so you thought you would just dive headfirst into figuring out if you were into guys, huh?”

“I blame it on Alya and beer.”

“Is Alya the one who came with you the first time?”

Adrien shook his head. “No, that was Marinette.” He glanced up then. “Who is happily married to a guy so no issues there.”

“And Alya?”

“Super into women.”

Nino nodded knowingly. “Ah, so you have the gay influence.”

“The what?”

“You know, when you have gay friends and they start talking about stuff and you realize you might be a little less what you thought before and a little more gay.”

Adrien blinked. “Yeah, exactly that.”

“I had the gay influence too,” he laughed. “Although to be fair, it was also around the time that I realized I had a huge crush on a guy on my cross country team and wasn’t just interested in his athleticism. Man, he had great calves.”

“I think I might be a little behind the curve then.”

The coffee maker beeped and Nino went to it. “I don’t think there’s a deadline for figuring yourself out, man.”

“I feel like an idiot.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“And now you brought me here thinking we were gonna…” He cleared his throat. “And then you end up just babysitting a slightly tipsy guy who has no idea what he’s doing.”

Nino offered him a cup of steaming coffee. “If it’s any consolation, it sure seemed you knew what you were doing earlier.” He watched in surprise as Adrien’s eyes darkened with what he hoped was desire before the other man quickly dropped his gaze and the moment was lost. 

“Yeah, well, that was a fluke, I’m sure.”

“Have you dated much?”

“Not really. I’ve gone out with people but never had a long relationship or anything.”

“And when you say people, you mean women, right?”

Adrien frowned. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Do you think you still like women?” Nino poured a long line of creamer into his coffee and set it on the counter in front of Adrien.

“I think so.”

“That’s cool.”

Adrien took a careful sip of the coffee and frowned, reaching for the creamer. “Do you like women?”

“Hell yeah,” Nino grinned. “I like everybody.”

“That’s…yeah, I think I do too.” Adrien shot him a tentative smile before taking another sip of coffee.

“See? It’s all good then. So next time you meet a guy or girl you’re into, you’ll know it’s totally cool either way.”

He squirmed on his stool. “Does, um, does that mean we can go out again?”

Nino bit back the instant reply of YES that was on the tip of his tongue. He though they had really clicked at the bar. Adrien was easy to talk to and he had a great laugh. He seemed smart but not the kind of smart that came off as condescending. He’d been really interested in hearing about his music stuff too. That’d felt nice. Nino got a flashback of the way Adrien’s body had felt against his, the taste of his mouth, the feel of his hand moving up under his shirt. He felt his body begin to react to the memory and he turned away to pour himself more coffee even though he hadn’t finished his current cup. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, dude.”

He could practically feel Adrien’s disappointment radiating across the kitchen. 

“I think you’re awesome and you’re obviously handsome,” Nino continued, not brave enough to face him at the moment, “but I just don’t think I have it in me to be someone’s trial run, you know what I mean?” He finally steeled himself and turned around to see Adrien nod. “That feels like a lot of pressure.”

“No, uh, that makes sense.”

The desperate thought that he might never see this angel of a man again suddenly struck him and his mouth started moving before his brain could catch up. “But we should absolutely hang out again!”

Adrien looked relieved and Nino felt himself die a little on the inside. “Yeah, I would really like that.”

“Great.”

An awkward silence settled over them and Adrien finally picked up on the cue. “So I guess I should go then. Thanks for the coffee and, um, everything,” he finished lamely.

“Yeah, no problem. It was fun.” Nino tried not to grimace as he undid all the locks and Adrien shuffled by him with another goodbye.

Once he was finally alone in his apartment, he flopped face first onto his couch. “I’m the world’s biggest idiot.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Excuse me, but you do not text that you think you’re gay with no other context and just never reply to any of my texts,” Alya hissed quietly, sliding down into the empty chair beside Adrien. “You had me worried, you jerk.”

Adrien blinked and his cheeks began to warm as his embarrassment from the night before resurfaced. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. Things got…intense.”

She studied him with narrowed eyes for a minute. “How intense?”

“I went back to Nino’s apartment.”

She sat back in her chair. “Well, damn.”

“Nothing happened though,” he quickly clarified. “Not at the apartment anyway.”

“You’re going to need to give me details, Sunshine.”

He groaned and picked up his stack of papers, straightening them against the table. “No, I really don’t. It was a huge mess anyway.”

“Was the guy a jerk?”

“What? No. Not even a little,” Adrien sighed. “But I told him that I wasn’t really sure what my…orientation, I guess, was and then he said he didn’t want to be my first guy. The more I thought about it, the more I got what he meant but…” He trailed off with half a shrug. “He said he wanted to still hang out though.”

“So he won’t date you but he’ll be your guide to the gay?” Alya asked, one eyebrow rising slowly. 

“I don’t know.”

“Hmmm.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one confused.” He capped his red pen, giving up on the illusion of actually grading papers. “For the record, he said he’s into men and women.”

“And you?” she prodded, standing and going to the coffee maker. 

“The same, I think.”

“Can you pretend that you’re only into guys for the day though?” Alya pulled down an orange mug from the teachers lounge cabinet and checked it for dust.

“Why?”

“Because Marinette apparently reads you better than me and I don’t want to lose a bet.”  
__________________________________

Adrien stared at the cinnamon sugar pretzel on the paper plate in front of him. His stomach rolled and he pushed it away with a grimace. 

It had been three days since his bar back alley makeout session with Nino. 

Three days since he realized with everything that had happened, he’d never gotten Nino’s phone number and his options for talking to him again were showing up at his apartment like a desperate creeper or trying to play it cool and finish returning the slacks he’d brought back before their date.

“You look like you’re going to throw up.” Marinette pulled the plate closer and tore off a chunk of the pretzel. “I thought you said you wanted to see him.”

“Maybe he’s not working.”

“I can walk by all casual-like beforehand if you want me to,” she offered, barely hiding a smirk.

“You’re not nearly as supportive as you pretend to be,” Adrien huffed.

She tore off another bite of pretzel and popped it into her mouth with a pleased smile.

“Would it be the lamest thing in the world to ask you to walk by?”

She laughed and reached for his drink. “No lamer than when we were fourteen and you asked if it was weird that you liked doing face masks.”

“That was a legitimate question!”

“Skincare isn’t gendered!” she shot back.

“As a former teen model, believe me when I say I know that. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t weird,” he chuckled and finally broke off a piece of the dessert pretzel. He chewed for a few seconds and his shoulders slumped slightly. “I feel all mixed up about this though. Is it dumb to try to see him again so soon? Am I supposed to go find some guy to go out with a couple of times and then go back and ask him out with like a reference from the other guy? I never even knew I liked guys before him. What’s the protocol here?”

“That’s a whole lot of dumb questions.”

“Listen, you’re my only friend in a real relationship. You’re going to have to deal with my dumb questions. Also, you’ve eaten my whole pretzel.”

Marinette drained his soda. “I let you have a bite.”

“What do I do?”

Her brow knitted together thoughtfully. “What do you want to do? You like him, don’t you?”

“Now who’s asking dumb questions?” he grumbled, feeling his cheeks warm.

“Then I say go back to the store. You can use your excuse about finally returning those pants if you want or you can just tell him that you’d like to go out again.”

“He said he didn’t want to be my trial run with dating guys.”

“Did you tell him you date around a lot or something?”

“No! I told him the opposite, pretty much.” Adrien sank down lower in the plastic food court chair. “This is dumb. We should just go.”

Marinette sat back in her own chair. “I’m fine doing either. Luka has band practice and I don’t feel like being home alone tonight anyway. I would like to go look for a new purse though. The strap on my main one is fraying.”

“Didn’t you just buy that one?” Adrien leaned over enough to eye the plum leather bag at her feet. “It looks fine to me.”

“There was a loose thread earlier.”

He studied her for a moment. They’d been friends since their preteen years and eventually ended up encouraging the other to go into teaching. It’d been good luck that they were able to land jobs at the same school. Of course all of that meant that they’d both learned to read each other very well. 

“Should I ask why you really don’t want to go home?” Adrien’s voice was soft.

“It’s nothing serious,” she sighed but shot him a grateful look. “I still need some time to stew in my irritation. Marriage is great but it also sucks some days too.”

“Do you need to talk about it?”

She shook her head. “No, but thank you. We’re just disagreeing on something right now. It happens.”

“I didn’t think you guys ever fought,” he admitted.

Marinette shrugged. “Everyone disagrees at some point. It’s nothing serious, just something we have to work through.”

“Would it make you feel better if we go back to talking about my pathetic love life?” he offered.

“Very much so.”  
__________________________________

An hour or so and another pretzel later, Marinette reluctantly decided to call it a night and Adrien wasn’t sure if he was relieved or not to be left alone to see Nino. He rounded the last corner before Nino’s store and felt his courage give out. He turned around and began to trek back the other way.

“Adrien?”

He lost his breath when he heard Nino’s voice and hoped his cheeks weren’t as red as they felt when he turned around to find the other man coming closer. “Hey,” he said weakly with an accompanying awkward wave.

“Hey,” Nino grinned. “Were you coming in?”

“Uh, I was, but then I realized it’s getting close to closing time so I should probably just come back another time.”

Nino fished his phone out of his pocket to check the time before dropping it back into place. “I mean, in another hour, so I can see the rush,” he teased. 

Adrien winced. “I need to finish returning those pants but I didn’t want it to be weird.” He watched Nino’s genuine smile stiffen into a more polite one. 

“It doesn’t have to be.” He shifted his weight anxiously. “Kim can take care of it if that would make you more comfortable. I was about to head out anyway. The store’s been dead tonight.”

“Oh.” Adrien tried not to let his disappointment show. “Oh, okay, yeah, I can do that. With Kim.”

Nino nodded, not meeting the other man’s eyes. “Okay. It was good to see you.” He stepped past him quickly and Adrien felt like his heart was leaping into his throat.

“Your phone number,” he croaked. He cleared his throat as Nino half-turned back to look at him. “Uh, I mean, could I get your phone number? You said we could still hang out sometime unless that changed.” He realized how his words must have sounded so he quickly continued. “Which I mean, if it did change, that’s fine too. I had fun the other night but I know you said…uh, I know what you said so it’s fine if…am I messing this up?”

“Dude, you can have my paycheck this week if you’ll just stop blushing like that.” Nino scrubbed his palms along his face. “Give me your phone.” He held his hand out and Adrien scrambled to pull his phone out and unlock it before handing it over. “I know what I said and maybe it was dumb.”

“Oh?”

Nino shook his head and let out a quiet laugh as he handed Adrien’s phone back to him. “Look, man, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the other night. If you want to go out again, then heck yes, let’s go out again.”

Adrien’s face lit up. “Really?”

“Yeah, but let’s take it slow, cool? I know you’re new to all of this and I just think that’d be for the best.” Nino stuffed his hands into his pockets. “So you’ve got my number now and you can text me or whatever if you want to go out again.”

“Is it too eager to ask you if you want to go out tonight?” Adrien smiled hopefully.  
__________________________________

“When I said slow,” Nino breathed before kissing a line along Adrien’s jaw, “this is not what I meant.”

“We can stop,” Adrien offered, tilting his head back to give Nino more access. His skin felt like it was on fire but he wanted nothing more than to keep Nino as close as possible to him. He was trying to be somewhat good though, his hands locked firmly at Nino’s hips. His thumbs had found their way just beneath Nino’s shirt and along the waistband of his pants but that wasn’t the very worst he could do in this state.

Nino groaned before pulling away enough to let the cool night air hit their faces. “What is it about you and alleys?”

“I didn’t mean to,” Adrien squirmed, pressing his back against the wall. “But when we were walking down this way, I started thinking of the other night and…” He lost his train of thought when Nino stepped closer once more, his thigh pressing between his. He felt his obvious arousal against his leg and Adrien swallowed thickly. “Can…can you define slow for me please?”

“I promise I’m not usually like this.” Nino rested his forehead against Adrien’s. “You’re just…”

“Too hot?” Adrien joked weakly. 

“Understatement.”

He didn’t think it was possible to feel more flushed but the gravelly tone of Nino’s answer had sent a jolt straight down his spine. “Is now a good time to mention I used to be a model?”

Nino groaned again and dropped his head to Adrien’s shoulder with a laugh. “Please tell me you’re lying.”

“Not even a little.”

“Okay.” Nino shook his head, a smile pulling at his lips as he stepped back and took Adrien’s hand. “Do you still want to get dinner or drinks or something?”

Adrien blinked in surprise. “What?”

“I really want to take you back to my place but I have a feeling that would be the opposite of slow this time so let’s go grab something to eat and you can tell me about your past life as a model.”

“It’s not that interesting.” Adrien felt his heart rate starting to find a more manageable pace even though it felt like every one of his nerve endings were now in the hand held in Nino’s.

“I talked too much last time.” Nino held the door to the bar open for him and they both stepped inside. “I want to know more about you.”

“I’m pretty boring.” Adrien felt a small thrill at sliding into the same booth they’d taken before as if it was a normal event. “Up until I started coming to your store, I rotated the same seven sweater vests and shirt combos and I have a ham and Swiss sandwich everyday for lunch.”

“Sweater vests, huh?”

“I like them.”

“Good to know.”

Adrien could almost see Nino making a mental note and he had a feeling he was going to be buying more clothes from the handsome man beside him in the near future. If this was some new kind of sales tactic, it was absolutely working.

“What have you been up to the past few days?” Nino asked as he waved two fingers at the bartender to signal the need for drinks.

“Mostly worrying about what to say if I got to talk to you again,” Adrien admitted. “I felt like an idiot the other night.”

“Me too.”

“Why you?”

Nino adjusted his glasses. “I don’t know, man. The whole ‘trial run’ thing was stupid. I liked you immediately and then told you to go off and date someone else? I’m an idiot.” 

Adrien scratched the back of his neck nervously. “It was a little confusing.”

“So let’s smooth over that bump in the road and keep going. Cool?”

“Cool.” Adrien took the bottle a server offered him and clinked it against Nino’s. “To a second start.”

“To a second start,” Nino agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as their relationship progresses, the rating on this fic most likely will as well. I think in the next chapter or so, I'll move it up to Explicit so here is the pre-warning now for what's to come. I'll update tags and such when I change the rating. :)

“This looks so bad,” Nino groaned as he squeezed the bag to work through a clog in the tip before dumping a lump of bright blue icing on top of the cake he was working on. “Well, that’s great. Maybe I can tell Chris this is a flower or something.”

Adrien winced as he poured more sprinkles over the lopsided cupcakes he just frosted on the cooling rack. “I’m sure it will still taste good.”

“I can’t believe my mom thought this was a good idea. I should’ve just gone out and ordered cakes. I know Chris is the one who put her up to it, the punk. She’s convinced it would— and I quote— ‘mean the world to your baby brother if you made his birthday cake’.” He shook his head in disgust. “He knows I suck at stuff like this. He better watch his back during the party. I know the girl he has a crush on and I’m not afraid to pull out the embarrassing family photos.”

“Are you and your brother close?”

Nino shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. There’s a ten year age difference so we kind of go back and forth depending on how cool he thinks he is at the moment. He was a cute kid but he’s a butthead of a teenager.”

“I always wanted a brother or sister. It seems nice to know that you’ll always have that person there for you if you need them.” 

“I guess. I wish there wasn’t such an age difference between us but he’s still cool for the most part. So just you, huh?”

“Just me,” he nodded.

“Any close cousins or anything?”

“Not really. We didn’t have a lot of contact with extended family.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah.” Adrien emptied the rest of the sprinkles and frowned at the cupcakes. “I may have overdone it on these but I was trying to cover up the fact that they are all leaning to the left.”

Nino leaned over to examine them. “Meh, they look festive; it’ll be fine. Sorry, dude. I doubt this is what you had in mind for our tenth date but I was running out of time since the party is tomorrow night.”

“I don’t mind. It’s been kind of fun even though I’m not sure we’ve been exactly successful.” He leaned against the counter and watched the other man start to fiddle with the blue piping icing again. “So you’re counting this as our tenth date?”

“We don’t have to count it as a date. I guess I was just keeping track of how many times we’ve hung out and as I say that out loud, I hear how lame it is.”

“Being the physics teacher, I thought I would be the biggest nerd but I’m glad to see that’s not the case.”

“Watch it.” Nino turned on him with the icing bag held high. “I’ll give you a blue moustache and blue glasses and then we’ll see who’s really the nerd around here.”

“I’m pretty sure it’ll still be you,” Adrien smirked. He looked around to plot his escape from the kitchen and then Nino was on him, pinning him against the cabinets with his hips as he tried to angle the piping bag so he could smear icing along the top of Adrien’s lip. Adrien laughed and pushed against his chest. His hands slid down to Nino’s stomach and then the mood between them shifted into something more heated than fun and Nino dropped the bag on the counter and pressed his weight against Adrien. 

“I could help you clean up,” he offered as his eyes dropped to the bit of blue icing he managed to smear across Adrien’s mouth.

He swallowed hard and tried not to lick his lips. “That’d be nice since you made the mess.”

Nino grinned as he closed the short distance between their mouths. He kissed Adrien and then let his tongue dart out to taste the sweetness on his skin. The air seemed to rush out of Adrien in a soft gasp and then his fingertips were digging into Nino’s side.

“Wanna move to the couch?” Nino asked in a husky voice.

Adrien nodded and let Nino pull him away from the counter without breaking contact. They shuffled out of the small kitchen and into the living room as they kissed and Adrien let out a breathless laugh when Nino knocked him over to fall on the couch before covering his body with his own. 

“You always get to be on top,” Adrien pouted even as he wedged his thigh between Nino’s in a slow grind. 

Nino held himself up on his elbows. “You don’t want me on top?”

He blushed and tried not to smile. “I didn’t say that.”

“Ah, so you just wanted to complain about something you enjoy? I see.” Nino kissed him again and Adrien hummed happily against his lips. Their hips knocked against each other for a few moments until they found a good rhythm and Adrien reached up to take ahold of the short waves of Nino’s hair. The other man groaned in appreciation and Adrien took the sound as encouragement to touch more and he moved his other hand under the hem of Nino’s shirt to trace along his bare back. His skin was soft and warm and he wanted to feel more of it.

“Can you take it off?” Adrien whispered, tugging on the material.

“Hell yeah.” Nino struggled to sit up for a minute and then pulled the shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. 

Adrien sat up with him as Nino straddled his thighs. His eyes immediately latched onto the tattooed design that began at the top right of Nino’s chest and flowed along his shoulder and a little down his arm. He reached out to touch it and then pulled his hand back hesitantly. “Can I…”

“Dude, there isn’t a place on me I wouldn’t let you touch right now,” Nino admitted. He released a quiet exhale as Adrien’s fingertips grazed along the permanent lines on his skin. “It isn’t done yet,” he explained. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the other man touching him. “I, uh, it’s a story about my musical journey and…and…the way I feel…”

“I really like it.” Adrien leaned forward and kissed where it began on Nino’s chest. Feeling brave, he licked along the line just under his collarbone. Nino shuddered but otherwise tried to stay very still with his hands held limply at his sides. Adrien kissed a few more places along the design before pulling back again. “I’ve thought about getting a tattoo but I don’t know if I could pull it off.”

“It’d be fucking hot.” Nino pressed Adrien back down to the couch and rolled his hips; satisfied with the reaction he received. He reached under Adrien’s shirt and pushed it up enough to graze his nails along his stomach. “To know that you were hiding some ink under those sweater vests?” He leaned down to nip at Adrien’s lips and the other man whimpered. “It’d be too much to resist.”

Adrien looked up at him with dreamy eyes. “I can go get one right now if you want.”

Nino laughed and propped himself on his elbows so he could study the other man. “It might make you too hot. I don’t know if I’m prepared for that.”

“I definitely wasn’t prepared for this.” Adrien let his fingertips glide along the design again. “I really like it.”

“I do too. I’ve been saving up for the next part. It’ll go a little further down my arm.” He sat up again and stretched his arm out and pointed to just above his elbow.

“Does it hurt?”

“Yeah, but it isn’t excruciating. At least it wasn’t for me. I know getting it some places is rougher than others and everybody’s pain tolerance is different.”

“Yeah.” Adrien let his eyes wander down the slight pooch of his stomach and to the waistband of his jeans. “Do you have any others?”

Nino raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to get me out of my clothes?”

Adrien swallowed loudly and his blush returned in full force. “No…I mean…if you wanted out of your clothes, I wouldn’t be upset but I…”

“But you?” he prodded.

He covered his face and groaned. “This is so dumb. I wanted to play this cool and now I’m going to sound like a teenager.”

Nino moved off of him and pulled Adrien into a sitting position. “Just talk to me. What’s up? Are we going too fast?”

“I, uh…” Adrien looked down at his hands in his lap. “I would be okay with going faster.”

“Oh,” he blinked in surprise. “Yeah, I’m definitely down for that.”

“But you know I don’t really have a lot of experience and there are things I want to try and I don’t know if I’m going to be any good at them and it’s kind of stressing me out.” He ran a hand into his hair anxiously. “See, dumb.”

“I know you’ve never been with a guy before. It’s not a big deal.”

Adrien shifted uncomfortably but didn’t reply. 

Nino eyed him. “Have you been with anyone before?”

“I’m not a virgin!” he blurted out, his face redder than before. 

“Okay, dude!” Nino held up his hands and tried not to smile. “I mean, it’d be fine if you were.”

“Well, I’m not.”

“Okay, I’m not either.”

Awkwardness settled between them and Adrien slumped against the couch. “I was home schooled until I went to university,” he sighed. “I didn’t really have a lot of friends growing up and it took me a while to get into the swing of things socially.”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

“I guess.” He worried at his thumbnail. “It’s just that I realize it more now, how off I am? So like Marinette and I have been friends since we met when she did a young designers event my father’s company put on and even then it was her reaching out to me over and over before I finally got it that she wanted to be friends. I think I’m just not very good at picking up on stuff and I’m worried I’m going to mess up with you.” He shook his head. “Wow. I really managed to change the mood from hot and heavy to sad and pathetic, huh?”

Nino leaned against him. “It happens. Probably was a good thing to pause and take a breath anyway.” He threaded their fingers together. “And just so you know, I don’t think you’re off at all. You’re pretty great. I’ve been trying to keep things chill because I don’t want to rush you. It’s not that I don’t think you can handle it or something.”

“I really do want to try stuff with you.”

“Good, because I really want to try stuff with you.” Nino kissed his cheek. “We should probably finish the cakes though.” He stood and went into the kitchen. “Hey, it’s going to be really lame but do you want to come to the party with me tomorrow night? No pressure or anything but you’re welcome to.”

Adrien followed him in. “Isn’t your whole family going to be there?”

“Yeah.” Nino got a towel to wipe away the mess they’d made with their impromptu make-out session. “And probably a ton of sixteen and seventeen year olds. Believe me, you really don’t have to come if you don’t want to but it’d keep me sane if you did.” He caught the uncertain look on the other man’s face and continued. “Besides, it’d be nice to show off my handsome boyfriend.” He held his breath and tried to gauge Adrien’s reaction to the statement. 

His eyes widened and he nodded quickly. “Okay, I’ll come.”

“And you’re okay with me introducing you as my boyfriend?” Nino teased as he dropped the dishtowel on the counter and pulled Adrien to him. 

“Absolutely yes.”

“A good tenth date then.”

Adrien chuckled and it was a happy sound. “I agree.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen. Things get sexy in this chapter. I was originally going to ease into things but apparently I'm no good at that and just jumped in with two feet. However, I've been in that relationship where you are kinda "taking things slow" until the moment you aren't and then you just can't get enough so meh, maybe it's just writing from experience now, haha.
> 
> The rating for this story now has changed to explicit. I don't expect every chapter from now on to have sexy stuff in it but better safe than sorry.

Adrien checked the address for a third time even though the balloons tied to the mailbox and the yard full of cars were good indicators he was in the right place. He tugged on the hem of his sweater vest, ran a nervous hand through his hair, and went to the front door. He almost knocked and realized he knew exactly one person behind the door and the likelihood of Nino being the one to answer might be low. He took a few steps back and pulled out his phone.

Adrien: Hey, I think I’m here.

Nino: Blue and green balloons on mailbox?

Adrien: Yeah, I’m out front.

The three bouncing dots appeared at the bottom of the screen and then stopped. Adrien took a deep breath and tried to think calm thoughts. This was going to be a fun night where he would get to learn more about Nino and not an anxiety-filled terror with a whole bunch of strangers. 

The front door opened and Nino met him with a brilliant smile. “Did you find it okay?”

“Yeah, I got a little turned around and took the first left in the neighborhood instead of the second but I figured it out.” He felt his cheeks warm as Nino took his hand and led him inside. 

“Okay, fair warning, my mom is really excited to meet you. It’s embarrassing, okay? I haven’t really brought anyone to, like, a family thing before and they’re all acting like my voice just changed or something,” Nino whisper-hissed. “So I’m really sorry but they are probably going to bombard you with questions and please feel free to tell them to stop.”

“I’m not going to do that!” Adrien could feel his anxiety level rising. 

“Hey, hold on, come here.” Nino yanked his hand and pulled him into a bedroom, quickly closing the door behind them. 

“What—“

Adrien’s words were cut off as Nino pressed him against the door and kissed him. His hands came up to cup Adrien’s face and Adrien melted into the kiss, his arms winding around Nino’s waist. The kiss was soft and gentle and Nino finally pulled back and exhaled. “Sorry. I think I needed to calm down.”

“I think we have different ways of calming down,” Adrien breathed. He reached up to brush a loose wave of Nino’s hair back from his forehead. “You look really great, by the way.”

Nino grinned and stepped back, linking his hand with Adrien’s. “So do you. I really like the cut of those pants.”

“Yeah, that’s what made me buy them in the first place,” he laughed.

Nino winked and opened the door. “Shall we?”   
__________________________________

“Please have another piece of cake, Adrien. If this gets left here, I’ll eat it all on my own.” Tamara Lahiffe held out a plate pleadingly but Adrien shook his head with a shy smile.

“I’m going to turn into a piece of cake if I have anymore. I think my blood is mostly sugar at this point.”

“Isn’t he the cutest?” she fawned to Nino’s grandmother who sat at the kitchen table. Loud laughter rang from the other room where Chris and his friends had put in a movie. Nino had been summoned to fix something with the surround sound and Adrien was counting down the seconds until he came back and hoping that he didn’t say anything too stupid in front of Nino’s mother and grandmother.

“How long have you been a teacher?” Tamara asked as she started placing the cupcakes into a plastic container.

“This fall will mark my fourth year,” Adrien answered, glancing back towards the living room in the hopes of seeing Nino.

“And Nino say you teach science?”

“Yes, mainly physics, but I’ve picked up a few other freshman science course here and there.”

“Very smart then,” Nino’s grandmother nodded. “Good, smart man for Nino.”

Adrien flushed. “Nino’s a good, smart man too. He’s really great.”

Tamara gave him an approving nod. “He is. He’s always been my good boy. Speaking of…”

“Never good to come into a room with your boyfriend, mom, and grandma and hear ‘speaking of’,” Nino said. He took the stool behind Adrien and reached around to hug the other man to him. Adrien stiffened for a moment before relaxing into the hold and feeling Nino hook his chin over his shoulder.

“Adrien was just telling us how great you are and I was agreeing so there.” Tamara stuck her tongue out at her oldest son and got a laugh in reply. “You guys are taking some of these cupcakes home. I’ve got my group weigh-in next week and I can’t let that Sophia be lower than me again.”

“It’s not a contest, Mom. Besides, I think you look great.”

“Not a contest, he says. As if he knows.”

“He should know,” Nino’s grandmother said. “Pudgy.”

“Hey!”

Tamara flicked a dishtowel in her mother’s direction. “Nino is not pudgy; leave him alone.”

“And on that note.” Nino let got of Adrien and stood and the other man stood with him. “Mom, I love you and the party was great. Also, you didn’t hear it from me but that kid with the spiked blonde hair has weed.” He kissed his mother’s cheek.

“He won’t in a few minutes,” she huffed. “Adrien, it was lovely to meet you and please come by anytime.” She gave his arm a squeeze before her Angry Mom face fell into place and she left the kitchen.

“Bye, Nana. I love you.” Nino jumped when his grandmother poked his stomach as he went in for a hug. “Okay, okay, I’ll got for a job sometime, dang.” He kissed her head and she laughed when he pulled back.

“We better get out of here before Chris realizes I’m the one who told Mom about his dealer,” Nino whispered as he led Adrien out of the kitchen and to the front door. They stepped outside into the cool night air. “She actually picked me up earlier when she was out running errands to make sure the cake and cupcakes were done. Would you mind giving me a ride?”

“I suppose I could do that,” Adrien smiled, rounding his car. They both got inside and buckled up and he turned the ignition. “Uh, actually, would you maybe want to come over to my place for a bit?”

Nino pursed his lips. “It’s getting late. Does ‘a bit’ mean the whole night?”

Adrien blushed as he directed the car down the street. “Uh, yeah, that’s what I mean.”

“Ooo, I’ve never been to your place before and I’ve been hella curious. Definitely.”

“It’s nothing exciting.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Nino leaned back in the seat and watched Adrien. “So was tonight as bad as you thought it would be?”

“No, your family is really nice.”

“They didn’t try to interrogate you while I was gone, did they? My mom is sweet but don’t think I don’t know exactly what she’s like.”

Adrien smiled. “She was really nice, I promise.”

That seemed to mollify him and he nodded. “Good. She pulled me aside to tell me you were too handsome to be real and I have to say I agree.”

He snorted even as he felt his cheeks warm. “She did not say that.”

“She did too! I can’t believe I’m going to have to compete with my mom for my boyfriend. I really didn’t see this coming. It’s like a bad after school movie.” Nino grabbed for his hand again and Adrien felt like a thirst was being quenched as soon as their fingers linked together. He wondered if that’s what it felt like for Nino too.  
__________________________________

“I can’t believe we spent so much time at my place when you live here.” Nino made his way into the master bedroom and looked around. “It’s so nice.”

“It’s just an apartment.” Adrien shifted uneasily. “But you should make yourself at home. Do you want anything to sleep in or…” He trailed off and went to his closet.

Nino grinned and took off his T-shirt, tossing it in his direction. “Do you want me to sleep in something?”

“No, not really.”

“Okay, then,” he laughed. “Our first official sleepover. I’m excited.” He stood at the full-length mirror by Adrien’s closet and poked his bare stomach. “Do you think I’m pudgy? I guess I have gotten a bit of a gut.”

“I would hardly call that a gut.” Adrien pulled his vest over his head and hung it up before turning to look at Nino. “I actually really love your pooch.”

“My what?”

Adrien smiled through his embarrassment and joined Nino in front of the mirror, standing a little behind him. “Your pooch.” He kissed Nino’s bare shoulder as he brought his hands around to rest on his stomach. “I think it’s hot.”

“You do not think this is hot,” Nino replied flatly.

Feeling brave, Adrien pressed himself against Nino’s back. “I really do,” he breathed into his ear. He watched Nino shudder and he let his hands fall to rest on the waistband of his jeans. “I think everything about you is hot.” He kissed along the tattoo covering his shoulder and felt Nino take in a shaky breath. 

“Is that so?”

“Mmhmm.”

Nino turned in his hold and carefully began to unbutton Adrien’s shirt. “It’s really not fair that you’re still wearing this.”

“I was undressing but you distracted me.”

“That’s no excuse.” Nino slid the shirt off Adrien’s shoulders and stepped back to take him in. “How the hell do you have a six pack underneath a sweater vest?” He ran his hands down Adrien’s chest and Adrien shivered.

“I enjoy working out.” Adrien stepped back and Nino followed him, never breaking contact as they blindly made their way to the bed.

Nino grabbed Adrien’s belt buckle. “How far are we undressing?” he asked, voice low and raspy. 

Adrien swallowed hard. If Nino kept talking to him in that voice, there would be absolutely no boundaries. “Uh, let’s…underwear for now.” He tried to hold in a whimper as Nino undid his belt and cupped his erection as he slid the zipper down. Nino followed his pants to the floor, going down to his knees and looking up at his boyfriend. Adrien felt the edge of the bed bump against the back of his legs as he shifted.

Holding his gaze, Nino leaned forward and kissed the bulge held in Adrien’s dark green briefs. He kissed along the length, reaching up to cup him as his lips spread a little wider for more open-mouth kisses. He looked up to see Adrien’s face dark red and his eyes half-closed. Nino pulled back. “Is this okay?”

Adrien gave him a shaky nod. “Yeah…uh…” He swallowed hard. “Can we get in the bed maybe?”

“Of course.” Nino tried not to let his uncertainty get the best of him as he hurriedly shed his jeans and slid into the bed. He had a second to think that maybe he’d taken things too far and then Adrien was on him. The other man sloppily kissed along his jaw as he moved his body to cover Nino’s. He ground his erection erratically against him as soft gasps fell from his lips. 

“Hey, hey, hang on.” Nino rolled them so he could press down on Adrien.

“Oh, damn it.” Adrien brought his hands up to cover his face. “I’m so sorry. This was so—“

“Stop,” he laughed, pulling at Adrien’s hands. “Believe me, this is not a bad thing, but I just have something that might be better.”

Adrien’s eyes widened and he looked a little scared. “I don’t think I’m ready for that yet,” he whispered.

Nino blinked in confusion before he caught on. “Oh, geez, no, not that. Not…not yet.” He laughed nervously. “Or ever if you…” He shook his head. “Do you have lube or lotion or something?”

He gave him a wary look. “Yeah,” he answered slowly.

“Do you trust me? I promise no butt stuff.” Nino really was trying to hold back his smile but Adrien just looked so scandalized.

He rolled away toward his nightstand and rummaged in the drawer for a minute before producing a small bottle of lube. 

“Are you okay with taking your underwear off? If not, we can…” Nino trailed off as he watched Adrien already starting to wiggle out of his briefs. He couldn’t deny the excitement he felt as he pushed his own underwear down to his ankles. He noticed Adrien turning away slightly and pressed closer. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Besides feeling like a huge inept nerd right now, you mean?”

Nino closed the little space between them and heard Adrien’s sharp intake of air as their erections rubbed against each other. “I don’t know,” Nino breathed into his ear as he rolled his hips. “You didn’t feel all that inept when you were grinding me into the mattress.”

“I…really?” Adrien’s voice held a breathless quality as he tried to keep control of his movements.

“Hand me the lube,” Nino instructed, keeping his voice low. Adrien quickly obeyed and Nino didn’t break their contact as he poured a bit into one of his hands. He reached between them and took hold of both of their cocks with his lubed hand. Adrien jumped a little even as a moan slipped out. “We’re just going to take this nice and easy,” Nino said, pressing forward for a kiss as he worked them together.

He swallowed the helpless sounds Adrien was making, the quiet gasps and his whispered name on repeat. Nino had been with a decent share of men and women but there was something about Adrien that felt completely new and exciting and perfect and so unlike anyone else he’d been with before. He picked up the rhythm and Adrien began to babble in his ear as his hips knocked against Nino’s.

Nino pulled back enough to look at him and his breath caught in his throat. Adrien was gorgeous even on the worst of days but seeing him panting and red faced and hearing him chant Nino’s name like a mantra was almost too much to handle. Nino’s climax hit him like a freight train and Adrien followed after, both of them making a mess of their chests and the sheets.

“Oh,” Adrien panted. “Oh, fuck, I’m sorry. Fuck.”

Nino laughed breathlessly. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that before.”

“Sorry. I…sorry.”

“Please don’t apologize.” Nino flexed the hand he’d been using to get some feeling back into it. “That was the best orgasm I think I’ve ever had.”

Adrien gave him a helpless look but there was a small smile there. “Me too,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I made a mess though.”

“Eh, we both did. Worth it if you ask me.” Nino cupped Adrien’s face with his clean hand and kissed him gently. “Was that okay?”

“Ha!” Adrien barked out an unsteady laugh. “Okay? It was more than okay. It was…it was…”

“Amazing.” Nino kissed him again and felt Adrien melt into it. 

“Yeah,” he replied dreamily. 

“We’re going to need to take a shower and change the sheets.”

Adrien yawned. “Okay.”

“Which means we have to get out of bed.”

The other man chuckled and reluctantly pulled away and sat up on the edge of the bed. He looked down at the mess on his chest and was suddenly curious about quite a few things. Adrien reached down to touch a finger to the cum on his chest when Nino froze where he was walking around the bed. 

“Please don’t do what I think you’re about to do.”

Adrien felt his face blaze hot and he quickly dropped his hand. “Sorry, I…” He swallowed loudly and dropped his gaze.

Nino moved in front of him and took his hands, prodding him to stand. He leaned in and nipped at Adrien’s earlobe. “I only have so much self-control,” he said in way of explanation and then pulled away enough to lead Adrien to the bathroom.


End file.
